Help Center

Types

Inventory types describe the thing you rent or track. They hold shared information like category, manufacturer, rates, labels, maintenance defaults, and whether the inventory is serialized or quantity-based.

Create or clean up the type before adding a large number of items. A good type record gives every future asset the right category, department, pricing behavior, label defaults, and maintenance expectations. If a type is wrong, every item underneath it becomes harder to search, quote, pick, report on, and maintain.

The type editor also shows relationships so users can see where the type is used before changing it. The relationships section separates bundle or prebuild contents from places where other bundles use this type, and it shows kit blueprints that call for the type. This is type-level usage, not proof that one physical item is currently assigned.

In practice, types define what can be rented (name, kind, category, manufacturer, rates). Each type can carry a Type ID and optional department for pick grouping. Type-level settings drive pricing defaults and planning visibility. Use the relationship tab before editing or archiving a type that may be part of bundles, prebuilds, or kits.

Serialized items

Serialized items are the individual physical assets that can be scanned, assigned, maintained, moved, and returned. The asset ID is the primary operational identifier; serial numbers are useful when available, but not every item has one.

Use serialized items when the exact physical unit matters. This is usually true for higher-value gear, items with service history, equipment that can be checked out to an employee, or anything that needs a barcode or QR code on the item itself. If all units are interchangeable and only the count matters, bulk inventory is usually a better fit.

The item editor separates relationships for this exact physical item from relationships inherited from its type. That distinction matters: an item may be physically assigned to a kit, packed in a container, picked on an order, assigned to an employee, or in maintenance, while its type may also be part of broader bundle or kit blueprint rules.

In practice, serialized items are individually tracked assets. Each item can have serial, asset ID, status, warehouse, notes/history, and a relationship tab. Item history captures usage, repair, and maintenance lifecycle events.

Inventory scan

Inventory scan is the fastest place to identify a physical item and take a small operational action without leaving the scan workflow. It is useful on a phone, at a counter, or anywhere a scanner is faster than table searching.

When an Asset ID, Type ID, barcode, or supported QR value is recognized, Pluck shows the matching record and the actions that are safe for that record. Opening an item from scan should keep the user in context by showing the full item editor as a modal instead of jumping to the Items page.

Use scan/search first, then choose the action that matches the floor task: lookup only, transfer to warehouse, return from order, or add missing inventory. Transfer-to-warehouse mode lets a user select a destination warehouse and transfer each scanned serialized item there. Return mode checks that the scanned item is actually dispatched before returning it, while unknown IDs can be recovered in place by adding a serialized item, adding bulk quantity, or creating a type. Continuous scan keeps scanner-heavy work moving by clearing and refocusing after successful actions. Successful and unsuccessful scan feedback can be controlled from user preferences so scanner workflows match the environment.

Bulk inventory

Bulk inventory is for stock where the exact physical unit usually does not matter. Pluck tracks the quantity at a warehouse and uses reservations, picks, and returns to keep the available count honest.

Use bulk inventory for cable, small adapters, consumable-like accessories, or anything where the customer does not care which exact unit leaves the shelf. The key difference is that bulk inventory answers “how many are available?” while serialized inventory answers “which exact one is this?”

Bulk detail views show relationships from the associated inventory type. This helps users understand that a quantity-based stock record may be used by bundles, prebuilds, or kit blueprints even though individual bulk units are not assigned one by one.

In practice, bulk inventory is quantity-based by type and warehouse. On hand and reserved are tracked separately to calculate available quantities. Bulk behavior can be enabled/disabled at company level. Relationship visibility on bulk records is type-level usage, not individual-unit assignment.

Bulk edits and purchase details

Bulk edits are for repeated changes that would be error-prone one row at a time. They should be used deliberately, because the same update is applied to every selected record.

Purchase date and price paid support reporting on what the company bought during a tax year. Rental rates and warehouse can also be updated in batches when a group of items needs the same operational correction.

Use bulk warehouse changes when several items physically move together. Use bulk purchase details when a set of assets came from the same purchase. Use bulk rental-rate updates when selected types or items should share the same pricing correction. Important bulk changes should appear in item history or audit views so the paper trail survives the batch action.

CSV import

CSV import is intended for getting existing serialized inventory into Pluck without hand-entering every record. Review the preview carefully before saving, especially when allowing the importer to create missing manufacturers or types.

Before importing, clean up the spreadsheet headers and decide which column should become the operational Asset ID. If the spreadsheet contains old names, inconsistent manufacturers, or missing warehouses, fix those in the preview instead of importing confusion. A careful import saves hours later because search, labels, reports, and history all build from the records created here.

In practice, inventory -> Items includes an Import CSV action for serialized inventory. The importer can map type, manufacturer, serial, asset ID, warehouse, and status columns. If manufacturers or inventory types are missing, the importer can create them during import when that option is enabled. Inventory -> Types also includes a Price list report so teams can print or export the current rental rate for each rate term enabled in the company profile.